Pyrhhic Victory
by Jennifer Hart
Summary: Warning: Spoilers for Bete Noire, AU. My guess as to what NCIS was going to do for the season finale to wrap up with Ari. Continued in 'Failure's Not An Option.' UNCHANGED, see note on my homepage


**Title: PYRRHIC DEFEAT  
Author: Meg  
Classification: Drama, technically A/U  
Rating: T – slight language and violence, but nothing worse than we see on the show  
Spoilers: Bete Noire and the Agatha Christie novel "Why Didn't They Ask Evans?"  
Disclaimers: No copyright infringement is intended here. I have absolutely no ownership over the characters, although I certainly dream about Gibbs enough to deserve a partial interest (g)**

**Author's Note: You guys can thank the Counterstrike episode "DOA" for this because I got my inspiration for it while watching that episode, noticing the similarities between that case and some of what was happening on Bete Noire, and wondering if it was a possibility for what we'd see as the season cliffhanger. **

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Gibbs took another sip of his now lukewarm coffee and tried to focus on the file in front of him. "Adnan Badar-al-Din," Gibbs read aloud. "Known Hamas lieutenant between 1991 and 1999. Believed killed in suicide bombing of Israeli Naval base on May 21, 1999, body never recovered." He picked up the photo and compared it to the one of the man who had shot him three months earlier.

"Why didn't they ask Evans?"

Gibbs jumped and jerked his head around. Ducky was standing beside his desk, chuckling softly.

"We don't have an 'Evans,' Duck," Gibbs replied.

"It's a book by Agatha Christie, 'Why Didn't They Ask Evans?' Marvellous story. I read it my second year at Eton…or was it my third year? Let's see, it was the year I had old Professor Carter for Classics and he caught me reading in the middle of discussing…"

Gibbs rolled his eyes. "Ducky? What on earth are you talking about?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. It's just that watching you reminded me of that book, 'Why Didn't They Ask Evans?' You see, in the book a young man comes across a dying man who's fallen from a cliff. Now the young man hears the man's last words, 'Why didn't they ask Evans?' and travels all over England practically to find out who Evans is and what the dying man was talking."

"And does he find out?"

"Well that's precisely the point. After travelling all over England, he finds that Evans is actually his housekeeper – who is now married and goes by her married name. And the answer to the question was that she was not asked to witness a will because she was a housekeeper known to that victim and…"

"Ducky." Gibbs' voice was remarkably patient. "How is this supposed to remind you of me?"

"Well both you and that young man are searching for someone in far-off places when it's possible that the answer lies in your own backyard."

Gibbs rubbed his face tiredly. "I'm afraid to say this, but go on."

Ducky pulled a chair up. "Jethro, while we were being held, one thing the mans said caught my attention – partly because he said it twice. He said he wasn't a terrorist."

Gibbs looked at him skeptically. "Since when do we believe lunatics, Duck?"

"We don't, but perhaps we should have. Maybe this wasn't a true terrorist incident but something more personal. After all, his accent did not sound Middle Eastern."

"No he didn't." Gibbs sat back in his chair. "And it would explain why it seemed like such an odd target for the Hamas—"

"If the Hamas were never involved in the first place." Ducky sat back with a smile.

"I owe you one, Ducky," Gibbs said, an earnest look in his blue eyes.

Ducky grinned. "Just bring me his liver."

0

RING…RING…RING

Kate rolled over and glared at the phone. "Gibbs had the right idea putting his phone in turpentine," she muttered as she grabbed the phone. "Agent Todd,"

"Mornin', Kate." Gibbs voice was entirely too cheerful.

"Gibbs, it's 4:20am."

"I've got a lead on the guy who took you hostage in autopsy."

Kate was halfway across the room in a second, fumbling for her clothes.

0

It was still dark as Gibbs, Kate and Tony stalked up to the security gate of the Norfolk military base.

Gibbs flashed his ID. "NCIS Special Agent Gibbs, Special Agents Todd and DiNozzo. We need to talk."

The young guard snapped to attention. "Certainly sir."

"You don't need to call me 'sir.'" Gibbs lifted the photo of the suspect taken from the security feed the day of the incident. "This man is wanted in connection with taking three people hostage at NCIS headquarters as well as being behind a planned attack on this base. Do you recognize him?"

The guard's face blanched as she looked at the photo. "Oh, man."  
"What?"

"It's Lieutenant Booth – he used to work gate detail like me."

"Used to?"

"Yeah, he completed his service time and resigned his commission three months ago."

"About the time he took us hostage," Kate muttered.

Gibbs nodded. "Where did he go, do you have any idea?' The guard shook her head. "Okay, then I need you go get a replacement to watch this gate and to get your base commander out here."

"Agent Gibbs, am I in trouble?" the guard asked.

"No, Lt., but we need to know everything there is to know about Lt. Booth."

A half hour later Gibbs sat in an isolated building with the nervous gate.

0

"Lt. Harder, how long did you work with Lt. Booth?'

"A couple of months since he transferred in."

"What was he like?"

"Truthfully, he seemed very critical to me," the guard admitted. "He seemed to enjoy pointing out small mistakes that no-one else would notice."

"Such as?"

"The barrier at the gate sometimes jams and won't totally come down all the way – maybe three inches higher than normal. You still can't get in without ruining your windshield and most of us just ignore it. But when Lt. Booth came to relieve me for one shift when it happened he chewed me out. Said it was a security hazard."

Gibbs raised his eyebrows. "Was he like that with everyone?"

The guard nodded. "From what I could tell, yeah."

Gibbs nodded. "Did the Lt. appear to have a grudge against anyone on the base?"

"No, but he didn't really talk unless he was giving someone crap."

"Here's his service file, but I don't know how much it will help," the Base CO offered, plunking the file onto the table. "The guy had incredible credentials – used to work for the CDC for crying out loud."

Gibbs started. "CDC. Why did he leave?"

The CO's face cracked into a hint of a smile. "Said he wanted a job where he could see his adversary without using a microscope."

"Trust me, Commander," Gibbs replied. "He's done that."

0

"This had better be good, Morrow," a groggy looking representative from the CDC said over the videoconference. "We just got back into the building after evacuating for a bomb threat."

"Trust me, Andy, it is," Director Morrow replied. "This is Special Agent Gibbs, and he'd like to talk with you about one of your former employees."

"May I ask why?"

"He took three NCIS personnel hostage, sir," Gibbs replied. "One of them was badly wounded."

"As was Agent Gibbs," Director Morrow interjected.

"The man was also behind an attempted biological attack on the US Naval Base in Norfolk," Gibbs continued.

"Who are we talking about?" the CDC representative asked.

"A Brian Booth; worked for you about three years ago."

"Oh, that fruitbar," the CDC rep muttered. "I should have known."

"I take it you had issues with him before?" Gibbs asked.

"You know the expression 'Not playing with a full deck?' Well this guy needed help finding the cards. He was obsessed with safety – constantly asking about the odds of a virus escaping, cleaning standards, protective gear procedures, you name it. The guy was worse than Martha Stewart with a sex change. He finally decided to leave and let me tell you, no one objected."

"Did Booth have any expertise or fascination with a particular disease?" Gibbs asked?"

"Well, he worked mostly with viral pathogens, stuff like Ebola, bubonic plague, and smallpox."

0

"How in sam hill do you work in the military and for CDC and still be able to disappear with no address?" Kate asked, slapping her desk in frustration.

"I don't know, is this a trick question?" Tony ducked as a bottle of whiteout went flying past his head.

"Considered Anger Management classes, Kate?" Gibbs asked, walking into the room. "Or do you just enjoy throwing things for the fun of it."

Kate grimaced. "Sorry, guess I'm a little uptight. This guy has like no address available whatsoever."

"Well he did fake his death," Gibbs replied. "What else have you got?"

"Well apparently a psychopath whose father got killed by a mouse and doesn't believe in going through Worker's Comp."

Gibbs and Kate stared at Tony. "What?" Gibbs asked.

"I was looking at his file, and get this – Booth's father was in the Navy about 25 years ago and stationed at the same base at Norfolk Qassan was going to attack."

Kate looked stunned. "You have got to be kidding."

"Nope. And it gets even better. Apparently dear old Daddy died in an outbreak of Hantavirus on the base – courtesy of mouse crap in the ventilation system."

"Now we know where he got his obsessive safety standards the guard told us about," Kate commented.

"The CDC guy mentioned Booth's safety consciousness too, but more importantly, it gives us a motive," Gibbs replied. "What about his mother?"

"Died about a year ago, no other family listed." Tony reported.

"Interesting. Was her address a house or apartment?" Gibbs asked.

"Um, looks like a house, boss," Tony answered. "Why?"

"I wonder what are the odds he inherited the family home," Gibbs said, a smile tugging the corner of his lips.

Tony grimaced. "We'll have to find a copy of the will to find out."

"No, we could just check with Land Titles Office," Kate said quickly, then slumped back in her chair. "Forget it, they can take a week to search."

"We don't have that kind of time," Gibbs answered, then his blue eyes lit up. "Courthouse."

Tony grabbed for the phone. "I'm on it."

Gibbs started for the door. "Kate, come on, let's get the van ready."

"I'm coming." Kate holstered her weapon and followed him to the door.

"I'll meet you at the garage," Tony called after them.

Tony joined them in the garage a few minutes later, his gear bag strapped to his shoulder. "Courthouse said the property is registered to a Richard Blaine but there's no record of a transaction selling the property since Booth's mother owned it."

Kate's eyes flashed. "Got to be an alias."

Gibbs opened the driver's side door. "One way to find out."

"Jethro!" Ducky came running towards them, an old-looking English-style handgun in his hands. "I'm coming with you."

"Ducky…"

"That may have been your team in there but it was my autopsy lab that prick took down."

Gibbs nodded. "Get in."

0

The van pulled up in front of the house and Gibbs turned to face the team. "Tony, take the garage. Kate, the back door. I've got the front. Ducky, you're with me."

The others nodded and slipped out of the van. Gibbs nodded at Kate and Tony. The pair silently crept out and made for the side wall. When they reached it, Gibbs turned to Ducky. "Go, I'll cover."

"I don't suppose you actually put on a bullet-proof vest this time," Ducky muttered. Gibbs made a shooing motion and Ducky crept quietly up to the wall next to the front door. A minute later Gibbs was beside him. He moved past him, stood next to the door for a minute, then whirled and shoved it open, gun drawn.

The main floor was an open layout and appeared to be deserted. Gibbs spotted a set of stairs leading to the basement and two bedrooms father on. Three possible places for Booth to be hiding and a stretch of no-man's land between them. The scenario you prayed not to get as your test in training.

Kate was already making her way through the kitchen. When she looked at him Gibbs pointed to her, then the bedrooms, then at himself and at the basement stairs. She nodded and moved toward the nearest bedroom. Gibbs motioned to Ducky to follow Kate, and then started down the stairs, gun drawn. He was about halfway down when he felt a sharp stinging pain in the back of his right ankle. Gibbs stumbled forward, missed the next step, and hurtled down the rest of the flight, landing in a crumpled heap at the foot of the stairs.

A mocking set of claps greeted his entrance. "Well done, Agent Gibbs, well done. I believe the Olympic judges would score it a perfect ten – well perhaps a 9.8 with the new scoring code."

"Drop dead." Gibbs sat up slowly, wincing. He spotted his gun a few feet away, but the sight of Booth holding an identical weapon checked his initial response to grab it.

The other man chuckled. "I've been expecting you," he said, nodding across the room at a computer screen displaying the NCIS vehicle.

"How come you didn't shoot that camera?' Gibbs asked. Booth laughed.

"As you can see, I've been doing a lot of preparation for your arrival."

"I hope you updated your will while you were at it."

Booth chuckled again. "I'm afraid that is the preparation that you should have taken, Agent Gibbs."

Gibbs smiled pleasantly. "You man you're going to kill me now?"

"That won't be necessary. I already did."

Booth nodded at an object on the stairs. "Do you see that syringe? It contained a sample of the smallpox virus, the same sample that is now flowing through your bloodstream." Booth laughed at the look of ice in Gibbs' cobalt blue eyes. "Did you really think the sample you sent to CDC was my only sample?"

"Did you really think we'd be stupid enough to cooperate with you in exchange for the anti-virus?" Gibbs shot back.

"What anti-virus? Agent Gibbs, I didn't waste time making anything I knew I wouldn't need. My goal was quite simply to take revenges on the base that killed my father – and thanks to you I'll be able to do that."

"You can shoot every joint in my body and I still won't cooperate with you," Gibbs answered bitterly "And you just took away any incentive for me to keep from blowing your brains out."

Gibbs made a dive for his gun and a shot rang out followed by a cry of pain. Gibbs grabbed his SIG Sauer and rolled over to see Booth on the floor, clutching his injured shoulder and Ducky standing at the top of the stairs, his gun levelled and his eyes blazing.

"Gerald asked me to tell you, he sends his regards," Ducky said, taking a step down the stairs.

Gibbs chuckled in spite of himself before shouting, "Don't come any closer, Duck!"

"I would do as he says, Dr. Mallard," Booth said in a strained voice. "Your friend Agent Gibbs has been infected with the Smallpox virus. The only thing you will accomplish by coming any further is joining him."

"Ah, contraire," Ducky replied, smiling. "You see, I have a present that I've been saving for you." Still holding the gun in his right hand he reached into his right breast pocket with his left and pulled out a container containing three fluttering objects. Booth's eyes went wide in horror and he tried to back away as Ducky opened the lid. Three butterflies came fluttering out towards Booth. He let out a blood-curdling scream of terror and groped for his gun.

Immediately Gibbs fired off two shots, striking Booth squarely in the forehead. He slumped to the ground with a low moan.

Ducky turned back to Kate, who had been standing behind him, covering him with her gun. "Call and get a team sent out, advise we could be facing exposure to an infections disease and to take appropriate precautions. Then call Abby and get her to stand by for a blood sample that will need to be tested, stat."

"Got it." Kate bit her lip and glanced quickly at Gibbs before scurrying away. Ducky advanced down the stairs.

"Ducky…." Ducky held up a hand to stave off Gibbs' protests.

"It will take eight hours for you to become infectious, Jethro. That's how Booth planned to escape uninfected."

"How much did you hear?" Gibbs said quietly.

Ducky smiled at him. "Enough," he said briskly. "Now have a seat and let me get a blood sample."

Gibbs mustered a smile at Ducky's tone and sat down on the steps. "So, Duck," he said softly. "Why didn't they ask Evans?"

"What?"

"That book – you never did tell me. Why didn't they ask Evans?"

Ducky chuckled. "Oh, Evans was the housekeeper at the murder victim's house and knew the victim very well. Now the murderers wanted to forge a will before they killed the victim, so they had an impostor write it and they needed two of the victim's servants to witness it. But because Evans would recognize that there was an impostor, they got two other servants who didn't know the victim very well to witness. However, as the person in closest proximity to the testator, Evans should have been the logical choice – hence the question."

Gibbs smiled. "I see."

Ducky returned the smile and placed the vial with Gibbs' blood sample into an evidence bag. "I'll just take this over to Abby."

Gibbs nodded and smiled as the older man gave his shoulder a fatherly squeeze before making his way up the stairs, then stared at the needle lying a few feet away."

"Gibbs?"

He turned to see Kate and Tony; both dressed in protective suits and visors, coming down the steps. Gibbs shook his head, trying not to smile.

"Don't you two have something you should be doing right now?"

"We're doing it, boss," Tony said softly. He and Kate sat down a couple of stairs up.

Gibbs chuckled. "This is hardly necessary…" he began but Kate cut him off.

"Gibbs, I don't think you'd appreciate me telling you to shut up, so don't make me say it."

Gibbs chuckled again and nodded. "Okay," he said, getting to his feet. "But did you at least bring your gear? We might as well do something other than just sitting here."

Kate and Tony exchanged smiles before following him down the stairs.

0

They'd been at it for a little while – sketching, measuring and taking photographs when another set of footsteps was heard on the stairs and all three looked up. It was Abby, and she was also dressed in the pale blue protective suit.

"Hey, Gibbs," she said in an uncharacteristically small voice.

Gibbs got to his feet and walked over to the stairs, flanked closely by Kate and Tony. "What have you got for me, Abbs?" he asked quietly.

Abby opened her mouth to say something, then closed it and walked down the rest of the stairs so that she was standing in front of him. Through the visor he could see there were tears in her eyes. "Gibbs," she whispered, her voice trembling. "I really don't want to do this."

Gibbs smiled at her. "It's okay, Abby," he said softly, touching her shoulder.

"No, Gibbs," she whispered and started crying. "No it isn't."

Kate closed her eyes. Tony stared at the floor, his mouth open, as though he was seeing the cement for the first time. Gibbs stepped forward as though programmed and enveloped Abby in a hug, his blue eyes simply staring past her shoulder, like those of a child begging for help that he cannot receive.

TO BE CONTINUED...IN _Failure's Not An Option_

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**By the way, for anyone who's interested, Pyrrhic Defeat is a term referring to a victory where you lose so much in the process that your victory really doesn't matter. Also, the Counterstrike episode I mentioned involved one character being poisoned and the team having to try and catch a terrorist to obtain the antidote.**


End file.
